After McKinney and Roraback both ran for higher office and lost over the past two years, Fasano was the only one left from the original trio.

On Thursday, Fasano was unanimously elected by his caucus as the new Senate Republican leader.

"I am humbled. This is a tremendous honor,'' Fasano said. "I am grateful to our entire caucus for giving me the opportunity to promote the policies that we believe best serve the people of Connecticut."

Fasano was elected on a day when legislators picked their caucus leaders at the Capitol.

Longtime Democrat Martin Looney of New Haven was tapped by his caucus as the next Senate President Pro Tempore. Since Looney will be the leader of the entire Senate, his election does not become official until the full 36-member chamber votes on opening day in January. But the Democrats hold the majority next year, 21 seats to 15, and the election of the top Senate leader is traditionally done on a bipartisan vote.

As expected, state Sen. Bob Duff of Norwalk was elected as Democratic majority leader.

In the House, Speaker Brendan Sharkey and Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz both were selected Thursday night to return to their leadership positions for another two years by their new, 87-member Democratic caucus.

During the caucus, newly re-elected Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman stopped by to chat with their colleagues.

Sharkey, who had a close working relationship with outgoing House Republican leader Lawrence Cafero, said he expected to have a solid relationship with the new Republican leaders.

"I think, generally speaking, because we've created an atmosphere where I think the other side of the aisle [in the House] feels that they have been included in the process. … I think that will continue,'' Sharkey said.

Fasano said he also expects to work cooperatively with Looney; both are lawyers from the same region.

"I've known Marty for 30 years,'' said Fasano, 56. "Before he was in politics, we both practiced law in New Haven. … We may not agree on everything we talk about, but the forthrightness we have will be a great benefit.''

Outgoing Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams agreed that bills might have to be changed if conservative Democrats bolt from the caucus on various issues and block a majority vote for their party.

"I think if it does mean that we reach out more often to the Republicans, that's not a bad thing, either,'' Williams said. "We've done that in the last four years. We've had a lot of bipartisan bills, and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw that in the next four years, as well.''

In the Senate, Fasano named Sen. Kevin Witkos of Canton as deputy leader with the title of Senate Republican leader pro tempore. A veteran lawmaker who was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2002 before winning his first Senate election in 2008, Witkos is known for working behind the scenes to get amendments passed. He is particularly known for his work on energy and law enforcement issues because he served as ranking member of the energy committee and spent more than 20 years as a police officer.

In addition, Witkos represents the conservative wing of the caucus on various issues. For example, Witkos was one of only two senators who voted in 2009 against banning the transfer of a machine gun to anyone under the age of 16.

The bipartisan bill, which was later signed into law by Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, passed by 31 -2 and was prompted by the death of an 8-year-old Connecticut boy at a Massachusetts gun club. The law prohibits the physical transfer of the weapons to children in response to the death of Christopher K. Bizlij, an Ashford boy who lost control of a Micro Uzi submachine gun and accidentally shot himself in the head in October 2008 in Massachusetts.

In the House, longtime state Rep. Themis Klarides was chosen unanimously as leader of the House Republican caucus, the first woman to fill that position.

Other women have been elected through the years as governor, Senate president, and speaker of the house, but the House Republican caucus has always been led by men. If elected, she would be heading a caucus of 64 members, the largest number for the Republicans since 1994. House Republicans gained 10 seats on Election Day as the Republican wave that swept across the country affected Connecticut.